Fall can be a wonderful time of the year, but it can be hard on a person’s skin. As the temperature drops and leaves fall from trees, the air becomes dry and causes your skin to lose its moisture. Things get even worse once winter rolls around; the air at this time is drier than it is at perhaps any other time of the year. This can cause your skin to become uncomfortably dry and even become painful in extreme circumstances.

People like to talk about skin care during the sunny summer months, but skin care is arguably more important during the fall and winter. Whether you want to simply ward off the effects of dry air or you want to heal some of the damage the sun may have done to your skin during the summer, here are some skin care tips that you should find useful in the coming months.

Use Body Wash Instead of Soap

Soap may be useful for keeping your skin clean, but it can dry it out very quickly. Instead of using the same kind of soap that you’ve been using all summer, switch to a moisturizing body wash in the fall. Your skin will feel much better for it.

Moisturize More

Speaking of moisturizing, it needs to be part of your regular skin care routine in the fall and winter. This means going with an oil-based “ointment” moisturizer instead of the water-based products that often work better in the summer. Be careful about what kinds of oils you use, however. Moisturizing your face calls for different products than moisturizing the rest of your body. The wrong kind of oil can clog the pores on your face. Some good non-clogging oils include avocado oil, primrose oil and almond oil. You can also use lotions that contain humectants, or substances that attract moisture to your skin. These include glycerine, sorbitol and alpha-hydroxy acids, all of which should be on the ingredient list on a lotion bottle’s label.

Invest in a Humidifier

Thanks to a furnace blasting dry hot air throughout your home, the air indoors is often drier than outdoors. You can add some moisture in the air and help your skin by investing in one or more humidifiers for your home. How many you need will depend on the size of your home, but even a portable model that can be moved from room to room will help keep your skin from feeling too dry.

Invest in Lip Balm

Chapped lips are always a problem in the fall and winter, so you should carry around some lip balm to keep your lips from cracking. Non-petroleum-based lip balm works best, but most kinds of lip balm that are designed to soothe chapped lips should be useful to carry around.

Take Care of Your Hands

The skin on your hands is thinner than most of the rest of your body, and it contains fewer oil glands. This is why your hands seem to suffer the most when the temperature starts to drop. Dry skin on your hands can be alleviated with a good hand cream, but you also need to cover your hands with a good pair of gloves when you go outside in the winter. Wool will keep your hands warm, but the material can be irritating. If you hate the feeling of wool, try wearing a thin pair of cotton gloves underneath your wool gloves.

See a Specialist

Finally, don’t forget to speak to a healthcare professional or a skin care specialist if you’re concerned that your skin is too dry. A specialist can provide you with expert-level advice on what you can do to keep your skin from feeling too dry, even when everything else you’ve tried hasn’t worked. Don’t hesitate to give Oregon Derma Center a call if you suffer from chronic dryness or any other skin irritation. We’ll develop a unique skincare regimen to get your skin back into shape as soon as possible.

503.616.7936

Enter the letters seen above in the box below.

“Dr. Black never stops to amaze me. He is truly an artist for which I am forever grateful.”

Mary 48, Entrepreneur, Portland

“Laser hair removal is so quick and painless! It was a life changing experience, I never have to worry about unwanted underarm hair when wearing tank tops!”

D. 23 year old mom, professional, and dedicated to Portland

“Thanks to ODC, I never have to shave my face hair again!”

Joanne. 48 year old mother and business owner

“All my friends tell me how young I look! I’m experienced with fillers and Botox but ODC really took care of me. Thank you!!”